Andrew's routine at 5 months

A baby's "routine" is ever evolving. After having stayed home with Andrew for 5 months, I'm finally feeling good about this stay at home business. Too bad I'll have to go back to work soon. I'll surely miss these days.

Andrew wakes up around 7:30am. Usually he doesn't fuss when he wakes up. He just lies there in his crib making funny noises. I get up to change and feed him. I almost always stay in my pajamas, because I'm counting on his 9am nap to catch a little more sleep. We play in his play gym for a while and read a little. Sometimes he'll play in his high chair while I wash bottles and pumping parts from the night before. He is usually in a good mood when he wakes up, so this is the time when I can leave him by himself for upwards of 5 to 10 minutes! I try to go to the bathroom, and sometimes even manage to brush my teeth.

Andrew goes down for his 9am nap. This usually involves me rocking him for a little while, or carrying him in a mei-tai while I tidy up the house. I put him down in his crib when he is sleepy, and he will nap for at least 30 minutes, sometimes an hour. I crawl back to bed. When he wakes up, we play some more, and I feed him again usually at around 11am.

Andrew takes another nap at around 12:30pm. If I need to run errands, I try to time it to this nap. Everything out of the house is easier when the baby is sleeping.

I nurse him at 2:30pm and then again at 5:30pm. Sometimes he takes another late afternoon nap; sometimes not. Mark comes home around 7pm. He likes to horse around with Andrew until 7:30pm, when Mark initiates Andrew's bedtime routine. For now, we're keeping it simple. Mark baths him, I nurse him, then in the crib Andrew goes. Usually Mark has to soothe Andrew in the crib, but we stopped picking him up to rock him about a week or two ago. Andrew usually is asleep by 8pm or 8:15pm.

I pump and try to go to bed by 11pm. Mark stays up and gives Andrew the pumped milk, usually at 2am or 3am. Mark says other than the feeding, Andrew wakes up a couple of times a night. Usually the binky is enough to put him back to sleep, but sometimes Mark has to sit there and pat him for a while.

A 5-month old is so much easier than a 3-month old, or even a 4-month old! I hope it gets easier and easier.